


Actually the Underworld

by OhHiImTrash



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Alternate Universe - Fantasy, Angst, Buckle your seatbelts, Comedy, Dark Fantasy, F/F, F/M, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Harem with a plot, Harems, Hinata Shouyou is a Good Friend, Horror Elements, Isekai, Mild Gore, Reader is a Bard, Reader-Insert, References to Monty Python, Sapphic, Slow Burn, it gets political, no beta we die like men, reader has two moms, reader is a basket case, so much slowburn the whole forest is on fire
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-10-30
Updated: 2021-01-15
Packaged: 2021-03-08 21:27:48
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 15,740
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27203158
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/OhHiImTrash/pseuds/OhHiImTrash
Summary: Spending your nineteenth birthday sick wasn't how you wanted things to go. However things turned for the worse when a necklace brought you to another world. Now you have to try and get out while finding out where you actually came from. Obviously you're going to have an identity crisis on the way.
Relationships: Akaashi Keiji/Reader, Bokuto Koutarou/Reader, Hinata Shouyou/Reader, Iwaizumi Hajime/Reader, Kageyama Tobio/Reader, Kozume Kenma & Reader, Kuroo Tetsurou/Reader, Oikawa Tooru/Reader, Sugawara Koushi/Reader
Comments: 14
Kudos: 65





	1. Ruby Red

**Author's Note:**

> content warning: graphic depiction of menstruation

It all started a couple days ago, before you turned nineteen. 

At least that’s where symptoms started to show up. You could’ve been sick for longer than a couple of days, but it didn’t really feel like it.

However, the symptoms started when you were looking in a mirror. It was around midnight, your parents were in their room down the hall while your little brother, Kiyoshi was sleeping in the room next door. 

The lighting in front of the mirror was a bit dim. Only one of the lightbulbs was actually working and neither you nor your family had the time or energy to replace the two that went out. It was quite silent as well. Usually, there was the tv from down the hall playing reruns of a show you didn’t bother to remember the name of. However, the sounds and radio waves emitting from it was making your head hurt, and you already felt bad.

Currently, you were brushing your teeth and heading off to bed for some much needed rest. Even though it was already tomorrow. The vibrations from your toothbrush weren't taxing on your head. It was only when you pulled away any stray hairs to spit and rinse out your mouth, that you started to feel dizzy.

As you spit out the residue of toothpaste, you saw that a majority of it was red, even though the color of toothpaste was white. Mixed with the blood, it was a light pink, although it became more of a red when you rinsed your mouth even more. The sharp red was diluting with the water and becoming more of an orange. You didn’t think much of it at first, however your mouth did not taste like mint. Instead, your tastebuds were flooded with the taste of blood. It was metallic, like iron, and not pleasant.

You stepped away from the mirror for a moment, backing yourself up to the door. Your reflection for the most part was normal.

It was most likely an injury that you didn’t notice while brushing your teeth. However, your head was banging even more now and your stomach was churning.

You checked to see if any more blood was in your mouth by placing your finger against the back of your throat. It wasn’t the best way to figure it out, but you couldn’t think of anything else at that moment. It was more of whether you were bleeding out or not. When you took your finger out, there was nothing. In fact, it was completely dry. It wasn’t long when your mouth felt dry as well. And it wasn’t a normal amount of dry. It felt like you didn’t drink water for several days, weeks even.

After getting out of the bathroom, you decided some water would help with the extreme dehydration that came upon you all of a sudden. You made your way to the kitchen in the darkness of your own home. Strangely, you were able to maneuver your way through the furniture and stray items around. It was nothing new that you had to go around during the day. 

Your shaky hand pulled a small plastic cup from the cabinet, and turned on the sink for the water. Tap water probably wasn’t the best, you couldn’t confirm it was actually clean. Although, your thirsty self didn’t really mind it. Water was water, and you still got yourself at least a bit hydrated from it.

However, your nerves weren’t calmed down one bit.

A chill had begun to run down your spine, and reached the back of your neck. You almost spit out the water, but managed to swallow it. In turn, you started to cough maniacally from it. You put the cup down after finishing the water, and decided to head straight to bed. Maybe you would feel better by morning.

It was then that you felt someone grab your shoulder. It felt much like someone was actually behind you. Their grip was firm, but not too tight that it would hurt your shoulder too much. 

In an instant, you turned around. “Who’s there,” you quickly grabbed a knife from the kitchen drawer to fight against the stranger grabbing you. Only to see that no one was there. You began to tremble in the darkness of your own kitchen as crickets chirped outside. The moonlight coming through the window was the only light you had to see if anyone was there. And by the looks of it, the light told you there was no one.

You sighed, putting the knife away, and went into your room. 

Nothing happened to you for the rest of the night.

* * *

Symptoms happened again the next morning. This time you were completely bedridden. Right when you woke up, you lost all movement in your legs. It was to the point where you fell over when you tried to pull the covers off and actually get ready for the day. You grimaced at the thought of actually being paralyzed from the waist down. Although, you didn’t experience anything that would cause that.

The door to your room opened to reveal your mother holding a bowl of soup. “Hi sweetie,” she said. “I made your favorite kind of soup to help you feel better.” She placed the bowl on the table next to you. 

“Thanks mom,” you said.

Your mother’s brown hair was tied back in a low ponytail as she usually wore it. It showed her hazel eyes that shined with their abundance of kindness a bit more. She wasn’t your real mom, but you thought of her as a mom. This woman was practically the one who raised you.

You remember the time you were twelve and your parents said you were adopted. They sat you down all of a sudden with lots of unnecessary spiel, before saying that they weren’t actually your parents. At first you thought you were kidnapped as a baby. Which is still an option since technically your adoptive parents didn’t know exactly where you came from. At least that’s what they told you. 

Things were weird with your parents the few months that followed. They were filled with you not being able to make eye contact with them. And even lashing out a couple of times. However, things were okay and your relationship with your parents were okay.

Now, you just kept calling your parents mom and mother. 

You straightened yourself up as best as you could and started to slurp up the soup. It helped your throat calm down for a moment or two. Even though it wasn’t your throat that was hurting. It was everything else.

You put the soup bowl down, only getting a little bit of the way through it, and lay back down. The aching pain going from your legs all the way to your back would be less if you were laying down all the way. Although it didn’t give you much opportunity to move around. Even Kiyoshi was complaining about your being sick to your mother. You promised him that you would play when you got better. But that was only a promise.

It was still a shitty situation either way.

That was when you felt something wet. The sheets over your body were heavy. And there were a few extra to what you would normally have since you were so cold. This was why it took you so much effort to pull them off. You were aching so much that you didn’t notice the blood streaming down your thighs, staining your sheets.

Wait. 

“Holy shit,” you scooted yourself back with a bit of pain. “Uhh, mom, mother!” You stared down at the bright red staining the sheets. They would most likely be ruined permanently by the time they go through the washing machine. 

It was a bit strange. Your period was strangely early. And it wasn’t by a day or two. It was closer to a week and a half.

“Mother, is there something wrong with nee-san,” Kiyoshi had been following your mother to the door to your room. Quickly, you pulled over the covers, keeping the sight of you bleeding out to your brother. You’re not sure if he’s gotten the talk yet, even though he’s surrounded by women and having to deal with their periods every month.

“Yoshi, why don’t you give your sister some space,” your mother said from the other side of the door. 

It was then that she opened the door, Kiyoshi wasn’t entering and was most likely being distracted by your mom.

“What’s goin’ on kiddo?” your mother went up to the foot of your bed.

You sighed and gently uncovered the bloody mess that was your bedsheets. Your mother’s bright blue eyes went wide. 

“Didn’t you just have your period a couple weeks ago?” your mother asked.

“Yeah, but it decided to come by again for one more round of suffering,” you leaned back against the headboard.

Your mother motioned for you to get up, to which you tired your best to. Pain was going through you, but it was lessened by the pure adrenaline of your early menstruation.

“Come on,” your mother grabbed your hand. “We’re getting you a tampon and a doctor’s appointment for tomorrow.”

“Why?” you asked.

“Your period’s early so something’s probably wrong.”

You blinked a couple times at your mother’s brutal honesty. Sometimes you wondered how your moms got together when they were vastly different from each other.

* * *

The next day, you were in a quiet waiting room with your mother sitting next to you. The dull light of the ceiling didn’t make her hair any less dark. It was almost black by how dark it was. 

There was a fish tank a small child was staring at. They were lightly tapping the glass shielding the fish from them. The child was probably distracted by the colors of those little creatures living their lives in the water. You wished for that sort of life in a way. It would probably be better than just waiting to see what was going on with your reproductive system.

After what seemed like hours, a nurse came out with a clipboard. He was wearing burgundy scrubs and his hair was tied back. You could’ve sworn he had a tattoo on his forearm.

“(L/N) (Y/N),” he read off the clipboard.

You were hesitant to get up, but your mother pushed you off the seat. Thankfully blood didn’t get on the seat. Although you were cleaned up by now since it was the next day. Yeah, not the best way to spend your birthday. Worrying about something that could be wrong with your body.

The nurse led you down the hall into one of the examination rooms. They all looked the same with a leather chair covered in parchment for sanitary purposes. There was a counter with a sink as well as hand sanitizer. Your nose was even wafted with the smell of rubbing alcohol and bleach.

You sat on the parchment while the nurse asked you a few questions. Nothing about how you were feeling, more about your day and if you were nervous. 

You were shaking a bit once the nurse left. The silence wasn’t helping either. Even a bit of music on the radio would help. Although the radio didn’t have much taste and would just have on what was popular. You weren’t even sure people used the radio either other than for sports commentary. 

Instead of thinking about the silence you just filled the emptiness with your foot tapping and humming to yourself. It wasn’t any song in particular you could name. Just you making up the melody as you went. You remembered the boy who sat next to you in elementary school telling you that. It stuck with you ever since.

The door opened and a tall and lanky woman walked through the door. She had long painted nails with her hair tied into two braids. She was the doctor your family has been seeing, and hopefully you were hoping that she would help you with these weird symptoms.

She did the normal routine things a doctor would do like taking your temperature, blood pressure, as well as your heartbeat, eyes and ears. 

“So it says here that you’ve been experiencing inconsistent menstruation,” the doctor took a peek at the clipboard before looking back at you.

“Yeah, it came a little early yesterday,” you scratched your cheek gently, wanting to forget the sheets you destroyed from your bleeding uterus. 

“Your blood pressure is a bit low as well,” she looked further into the report she has on you. “You said you couldn’t move without it being painful yesterday.”

You nodded.

The doctor nodded, “I see. Any major weight changes.” 

“No.”

The doctor began writing again. She looked about as confused as you were. Most of the symptoms had nothing to do with each other. And you didn’t want to tell her about the frequent chills and some invisible person resting their hand on their shoulder.

“It seems like the symptoms might’ve been caused by stress,” the doctor put down her clipboard.

Maybe you were completely wrong with things not being as they seemed. Although that doesn’t explain chills and the invisible person.

The doctor rested her hand on your shoulder, “Try and relax for a moment or two before taking some ibuprofen. That’ll help.”

“Thank you,” you said. It didn’t really help but you wanted to lie to yourself to see if it would.

“I wish I could do more with that kind of strangeness,” the doctor said.

Soon you and your mother left with that slightly disappointing information.

By the time you got home, you were dead set on relaxation. Practically the first thing you did was head over to take a hot bath. Those usually took things off your mind. Your moms would be able to keep Kiyoshi out of your hair for a while too.

You stripped yourself of the comfy clothes you were wearing after running the bath. Chills ran over your newly exposed skin as the bathroom fan kept the room cool. 

Quickly, you stepped into the hot water waiting for you to relax yourself. A few bath salts were added in for a little flavor, something you could easily sell after you were done with relaxing from an early period. Someone out there is probably into that.

You sighed as the tension was leaving your body as you stayed in the bath. There was just enough sound too that it didn’t scare you as much. There wasn’t any blood leaving your system either, so it was almost like heaven.

You looked into the water for a moment or two, seeing the muted reflection in it. It showcased your prime features, mostly the ones you didn’t like about yourself. As well as the small amount of darkness under your eyes. It probably was the stress of being done with school getting to you.

Your reflection then started to run red. A dark red. It was spreading through the bath water like little puffs of smoke. Low and behold, the puffs led straight to between your thighs.

Instead of screaming, you covered your mouth. Period blood wasn’t supposed to be going through water, especially through a tub of it. Your breathing had become erratic, uneven, as you stared down at the monstrosity that was your attempt to relax.

You rubbed your eyes, only to see clear water. The blood had miraculously disappeared from the water and was now looking like a normal bath.

You threw your head back against the wall, sighing. “I’m going crazy,” you muttered.

Eventually, you got on new clothes and went out into the living room. Hearing the muffled voices of your moms got you a bit worried. Both of them sounded so concerned.

“Should we tell her now,” your mom said. “I mean, it’s her birthday Mio.”

“I know, but she’s also an adult Sumi,” your mother said. “We didn’t even tell her when she was twelve and I still feel bad about it.”

“What’s going on?” you popped in through the doorway, causing your moms to flinch.

“Oh sweetheart you scared me,” your mom put her hand over her chest.

“Well you _were_ talking about me so,” you trailed off and looked off to the side.

Your mom waved her hands in front of her, “Oh no it’s nothing bad. We just wanted to know how to tell you something.”

“Is it about my adoption again,” you narrowed your eyes at your moms.

“Way to go Sumi,” your mother patted your mom on the shoulder a couple times. “Now why don’t you take a seat (Y/N).”

You sat down a bit far from your moms, tucking your hands under your thighs.

“Well, since it is your birthday,” your mom said. “Maybe we should start with your present.”

She pulled out a long brown box that was tied with a black lace bow. You wondered how she was able to keep it away from you since she was so bad at secrets. She handed the box to you. It was cardboard mostly, almost feeling like paper. 

When you opened the box, a necklace was revealed. It was a silver chain carefully crafted from you didn’t know where. The middle of it showcased a small gem, a ruby. It was a beautiful shade of red, unlike the blood in the bathwater earlier.

“It’s beautiful,” you said. “But why give me this?”

Your mother pointed to the necklace in the box, “That necklace was in the basket we found you in. We didn’t want to give it to you right away since you would’ve swallowed it.”

Your cheeks became hot, remembering that you would eat anything that wasn’t food.

“Now the real thing we wanted to tell you is about where you came from,” your mother said.

Your eyes went wide. Much wasn’t known about how you were adopted by your moms. They mostly glossed over that part when you were twelve, mostly because you were just shocked that you were adopted. Yes, you knew where babies came from when you were twelve, you were just confused.

“What happened?” you leaned forward to your parents.

“Woah there tiger,” your mother said. “Cool it a bit we’ll tell you.”

Your moms looked at each other and both sighed. It was strange. You’ve never seen them like this before, at least not at the same time. Your mother was always the more laid back when telling information like this, even when you initially found out you were adopted.

“It was actually a pretty stormy day,” your mom said. “Your mother had gotten home from work a bit late and a little cranky. And we just decided to watch whatever was on the TV. Then I heard someone knocking on the door. I went to go see who was there, maybe a delivery man or something even though it was late at night. Well, something did get delivered. It was a baby.”

Your mom smiled at you, remembering the memory fondly, “You were the tiniest baby I’d ever seen all swaddled up in that basket. That’s where I found the necklace too. I didn’t want you to swallow it and choke so I just put it in my pocket. Then I showed your mother what I found.”

“I didn’t agree with keeping you at first,” your mother said. “I mean, there wasn’t anything official to who exactly were your birth parents. It didn’t help that you weren’t even documented. But your mom was very attached to you, and soon I felt the same.”

“So where exactly did I come from?” you asked.

“We don’t know,” your mom said. “There wasn’t anything we could find out, and believe me, we tried a lot of things.” 

You looked down at your lap, and at the necklace. Your parents would never lie to you. However it was a bit disappointing. Their answer wasn’t really a real answer. Just an ‘I don’t know.’ A voice in the back of your mind told you that it wasn’t good enough.

“Do you still have the basket?” you blurted. You didn’t know why, but you wanted proof that they actually didn’t know at all. Something to have at least a bit of closure of not knowing.

“It’s definitely somewhere in the house,” your mother said. “Your mom wanted to keep it to show you someday.”

“Yeah, I’ll go get it,” your mom was beaming as she went to her and your mother’s shared bedroom.

While waiting, you sat in silence, hands gripping at the baggy pants you had on as pajamas. It wasn’t technically nighttime, but you still wanted to sleep for the rest of the day. Even if it was technically your birthday. 

Your mom came back into the hall, holding a basket that could hold a baby. Well, it would hold you as a baby. Any sort of blankets that were in there when you initially arrived were gone.

“Here it is,” your mom smiled at the basket. “The basket that started it all.”

She held the basket up to you. The weaving that made the shape looked like it was completely hand crafted. It was a little dusty, which made sense because it was sitting somewhere collecting it. You were surprised that a tiny version of you could fit in that basket outside the door of an unsuspecting couple.

“You know this changes nothing right?” your mother asked.

“Of course it doesn’t,” you said. That was the truth. Nothing could change that these two women raised you.

“Good,” your mother gave you a pat on the head. “Now have a good rest of your birthday.”

You were now in the arms of your moms. The arms of a loving family, real or not.

“So when are you gonna tell Kiyoshi about being adopted?” you joked.

“We have three years before he’s twelve, not now,” your mom said.

* * *

That night, you were feeling better, mentally not physically. You were now sitting on the twin bed next to your window that has new sheets.

You held the necklace in your hand. The chain holding the ruby emblem was a bit cold, most likely from not being held in a long time. You had the basket in your room as well, sitting on the desk. You wanted to keep it after your mom asked.

You got up from the bed and walked over to it. Whoever crafted it must have known who you were or who your birth parents were. Maybe you could find the person who made it then, in turn, figuring out where you came from.

There was just too much dissatisfaction from your moms telling you they knew nothing.

You sighed. It wouldn’t help if you were still sick during the process of figuring it out. And Kiyoshi would get in your hair as well and find out he was adopted too.

You focused on the necklace once more, being hypnotized by the beautiful ruby decorating it.

Then the strangest thing happened. You stroked the ruby itself with your thumb, and you felt a poke. A small amount of blood was coming from your thumb now as it was stinging a bit from the pain. It was about the pain of a measly papercut, but moreso. You hissed, not wanting to wake up your brother because you got hurt.

The ruby then started to glow from the little bit of blood oozed from your thumb. You covered your mouth to prevent yourself from screaming. You were pretty sure a necklace shouldn’t be glowing from blood.

You stumbled back from the increasing amount of light. Closing your eyes wasn’t working either.

And then the glowing stopped. You hit the floor with the back of your head, slipping on your bed a bit. Everything went black at that moment.


	2. The Most Unintimidating Thing

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which there is wandering

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> No content warnings

The necklace was loose in the palm of your hand. Your hair was splayed across the grass you were suddenly laying on. No pain had gone to your head. There were no cramps coming from your abdomen either. The sky was dark as the full moon was shining its light down on you. All the while it was littered with a tremendous amount of stars.

You sat up in the supposed field you were in the middle of. Dirt was most likely all over the back of your pajamas. Your hair was tangled up as well. You quickly ran your fingers through it while taking a look at your surroundings.

It seemed like there was nothing for literal miles. There was only grass with the occasional orchid. The nightly colors tinted the grass into a darker shade of green, and the orchids were a darker shade of purple. Your house wasn’t around either, well no building was around this area.

How did you even get here?

You touched the ruby on your necklace and suddenly you fainted.

You held up the necklace, letting the gem dangle a bit. “This is your fault,” you glared at the gem. “You just had to mysteriously be a part of this didn’t you.”

You then crossed your arms, puffing your cheeks. This wasn’t like how the anime you’ve watched in the past. The ones where the main character would wake up in a suit of armor and immediately learn how to fight numerous amounts of monsters. Although, you could tell that it was nothing like reality.

“Alright,” you held up the necklace again. “I’ll forgive you if you take me back to my room.” You furrowed your eyebrows, swiping your thumb over the ruby. It was what worked initially, so another try should be fine.

You took in a deep breath.

And nothing happened. There wasn’t even a tingle coursing through your body.

You tried one more time, “Take me back!” Yet you were still in the field of orchids

You sighed, “Fucking bitch.”

Then you made the brilliant decision of putting the necklace on. After taking a moment to fasten the clasp, you stood up. Your legs were a bit wobbly, making you almost fall back down to the ground again. However, you held out your arms, keeping a sense of balance.

“Alright,” you put your hands on your hips. “Let’s find some civilization.”

And so your journey began to find a random stranger. Or at least a phone to call your moms to pick you up. Although it might be hard for them to drive around here since there was no road or parking lot. 

It turned out that finding civilization would be harder than you thought it would be. You walked for what seemed like an hour and there was absolutely nothing. There probably wouldn’t be any sort of building for miles too. It’s like the midwest or the country. It was still nighttime too. Maybe even in the early hours of the morning. Your mother would probably scold you for staying up too late once you get back home.

“Hello!” you cupped your mouth with one of your hands. “Someone! Any food! Water! A phone! Maybe a pad or tampon!”

You then wrapped your arms around yourself, “A hug?” It was cold, and you just wanted one.

As you kept wandering the fields, you noticed little clasps of wire and metal on the ground. Some of them looked as if they were fit for a bear, while others were smaller, fit for a rat in the attic. You made sure to watch your step because bare feet and sharp traps did not go together. The bear sized ones could probably break your foot entirely.

Eventually, you found something. A big stick, or in this case, a viable weapon for danger. Maybe someone wants to throw hands with you, they’ll be whacked. Although you’re not terribly strong so it might just be a love tap to them.

Now with a necklace and stick in tow, you were ready to take on the world. Except there was nothing to take on other than a few orchids.

“Hey!”

Finally, a task for you. A cry for help from a distant trap you passed by not too long ago. It seemed like the one who was trapped was calling to you specifically too.

You turned around, and went over to the trap. It was one of the smaller ones that the creature got itself caught in. They were completely white, like a fluffy cloud. Bright blue eyes light themselves up as well as the teal aura surrounding it. 

“Well don’t just stand there all dumb! Help me!” the creature said.

“Oh right,” you knelt down, trying to unclasp the trap so the creature can be free. It was in a simple layout, most likely so more could be placed around the field. The teal light also helped you get the creature free. 

Eventually, the creature was able to get out. They flew high up in the air, and lowered themselves to fly a few circles around you, chanting happily. Teal light was trailing behind them as they went around. It reminded you of the dust that would trail behind something going extremely fast.

The creature finally stopped, keeping a steady eye contact with you. “Now I owe you a favor,” they said. 

“Huh?” you gripped onto the big stick you let go of to help the creature. This creature wasn’t anything you’ve seen back home, or anywhere on this planet really. There could’ve been more of them as well, like an alien race. Hopefully this one wouldn’t start to lay eggs in your stomach and have one pop out singing ‘Hello my baby.’

The creature frowned at you, “You helped me, so now I’ll help you. That’s how things work around here lady.”

“Oh,” you then thought of what this creature could answer for you. Although questions probably won’t work as a favor. It’s more like an action. You pointed to the creature. “Then, you have to help me get back home.” 

“You’re lost?” the creature tilted.

“Yeah,” you looked away from them. “Now where am I?”

“You’re in flight territory,” the creature said. “Those damn crows are the ones who set those traps for us. Surprised you didn’t get caught in one.”

Flight territory? That sounded nothing like the midwest or anywhere in the country at all. Were there birds here then if this was ‘flight territory?’ That would make sense with the whole ‘flight’ part of it. And there were no airports as far as you can see. The creature also mentioned crows. From what you could tell, they weren’t sentient, or intelligent like a homosapien.

“You got a name?” you asked the creature. It’s better to start off simple after all.

“Yui,” the creature bowed, or what looked like bowing. “Good spirit of The Underworld, at your service.”

Underworld? Yeah, you were probably going crazy at this point. “Uh, (Y/N),” you bowed a bit as well. “High school graduate?”

“Well (Y/N), High school graduate,” Yui said. “How did you wind up out here?”

“Um, just (Y/N) is fine,” you held out the necklace around you to Yui. “And I poked my thumb on this ruby here, and I fainted. All of a sudden, I’ve got dirt all over me and I see orchids.”

“Dumbass,” Yui commented.

“Hey! The ruby wasn’t even sharp!” you threw your free hand down.

“That doesn’t help your defense,” Yui said. “If anything it makes you look more like a dumbass.”

  
“Are you helping me or not?” you glared at the glowing cloud. Anyone must’ve thought you were crazy for asking this thing for help.

“Alright, alright,” Yui said. “First thing is to get out of this in-between part of flight territory. Then you’ll be back home in no time. Where do you live anyways? With the crows, owls, or eagles? Or do you live in flightless territory with the felines, foxes, or snakes?”

“The fuck?” you blurted. “You’re telling me everyone’s a furry?”

Yui then looked you up and down. “Oh,” they said. “Your clothes don’t really match any of those places.”

“Yeah, like my pajamas would fit some kind of furry convention,” you glanced away from them.

“You’re probably not from anywhere around here then,” Yui said.

“How’d you guess?”

“Don’t get snippy with me, foreigner.”

Yeah, this good spirit of the underworld wasn’t as good as you thought. You originally thought of a Mother Theresa like figure, but Yui wasn’t exactly that.

“So, where does this ‘in-between’ part end?” you stood up, looking around the field.

“The borders are around the iron wall that separates the territories,” Yui said. “But I can never remember which direction to go.”

Great, you had a directionless spirit leading you back home. This would be a hell of a story to tell your moms and Kiyoshi. You wondered if they would believe you or not. Fainting and ending up in a field of flowers was probably a common dream among people. Maybe you could let this off as some feverish lucid dream or something.

Yui led you across the field as you continued to make your inferences. Asking a question would probably be quite hard for you to do. From your short time spent with them, Yui wasn’t one to give tons of info in one go. They didn’t ask much about you, much to your surprise. So in turn, you didn’t ask much about them. It was a silent agreement the two of you had before Yui would be done with your favor and be on their merry way. 

Your mom might think Yui is amusing when you tell her about them. Such a feminine name and they use they/them for their pronouns. For any enby person, Yui would be different based on their name. Most enbys you had their preferred name be an item like dirt, or frog. Obviously you haven’t met anyone named dirt, but you had noticed the pattern early in life with them being around you. It’s almost like an unspoken rule the enbys have.

“Someone’s closeby,” Yui said. “Might wanna hide the necklace.”

“What does my necklace have to do with them?” you asked.

“Just hide it. You’ll thank me later.”

You regretted not hiding the ruby any sooner than you did. Because whoever was close to you and Yui had probably seen it around your neck.

A black feather had drifted its way down to the orchid field. It landed on one of the flowers as a couple more followed. Yui made their way behind you as you stared down at the feathers falling around you.

Once you looked up again, there was a pair of amber eyes staring straight into yours. They had this curious ambience to them as the person looking down on you was still in the air. The person in question was a boy that didn’t look much older than you, maybe even the same age. His hair was a bright orange that was disguised horribly against the night sky. Even from above, the boy looked a bit small.

Not to mention, there was a pair of black wings spread out and flapping from his back to keep him above the ground. A feather or two had floated from those wings to the ground. He was wearing virtually black clothing as well. A black tunic with black pants, as well as black boots. Wearing those in the summer must be a nightmare.

You tried to refrain from keeping eye contact from him as he stared. You even wondered when the boy would actually blink.

“Who might you be?” the boy said. His voice had its boyish charm that added to the small body he had.

Your mind went blank for a moment, only opening your mouth to say something, only to come up speechless. Jeez, you learned nothing from having to take oral comm twice. Although the boy flapping his wings as you didn’t help.

You backed away from him, pointing at him with your stick. Although it may have been over for you. The stranger did have the high ground after all.

“Don’t come any closer I got a weapon,” you said. Well, it was more like you stammered through the whole thing.

The boyish man looked at your big stick, then back at you. “That’s just a stick,” he tilted his head.

“It’s a big stick though,” you said. “Y’know I can bash your head in or something if I had some kind of upper body strength.”

“I can get away with my wings though,” the orange hair boy quirked his eyebrow.

“Crap I forgot about that, oh god wait you have wings?!” the thought of him continuously flapping in the air left you as you tried to defend yourself. The wings themselves blended with the night sky so perfectly too, unlike the boy’s hair.

The boy had landed his feet on the ground. His wings had rested themselves and folded behind his bag. Your assumptions of him being small were correct.

“Of course I have wings,” the boy said. “All of us crows do.”

You kept your big stick up, not wanting to get caught with your guard down. The boy only took a step closer to you. He seemed to have been eyeing your pajamas, not any specific body parts they were outlining.

“What’s with your clothes?” the boy asked.

“What’s with  _ your _ clothes?” you asked. 

“I asked you first.”

“I asked you second.”

The boy sighed, “This is what I always wear. What about you?”

You looked down at the baggy t-shirt and shorts you had on, “They’re my pajamas.” 

From what you could find in his behavior, the boy was friendly, or at least he was harmless. His short stature and bright hair were things that might’ve been unconventional for someone who would put up traps. Maybe it was another one of his kind that did so. In conclusion, this boy was the most unintimidating thing you’ve ever seen. Your moms definitely would get a kick out of this.

“You got a name?” you asked. 

“Shoyo,” the boy said. His name added to his boyish charm. He smiled at you with his bright eyes lighting up even more. “What about you? What’s your name?” he asked.

“Uh, (Y/N),” you stuttered. It was like how you introduced yourself to Yui. This would probably be a running habit for any person you would meet while you’re here. “Uh, I’m just lost,” you said. “I’ll be on my way and leave you alone now.” You backed away while gripping onto your stick.

“Oh, let me help you get back then,” Shoyo started to follow you. Your attempts in getting away from him were practically useless. The same distance would be in between you two.

“Are you sure? Cause I think I’m good,” your voice got a bit higher without you noticing it. Shoyo’s eyes were now narrowing themselves at you. It was like an actual crow looking down on its prey. Hopefully he wouldn’t eat you alive.

“Oh I’m definitely sure,” Shoyo said. “Someone has to keep an eye on that pretty necklace of yours.”

“You’re not getting it buster!” you snapped.

Shoyo then grabbed your big stick. The both of you tugged on the makeshift weapon before he eventually got it and dropped it on the ground far from you. No weapon meant that you would be overpowered even more. 

“I’m really sorry about this (Y/N),” Shoyo said. “You really do seem like a nice person. But I need to bring you back to investigate.”

Oh god he was gonna bring you to a secondary location. If you learned anything from John Mulaney, you don’t want to be in a place, and then taken to another place. The best thing to do right now was to lay on the ground and start kicking. That would definitely throw Shoyo off his rhythm.

And so you did, or at least tried to. It was more like Shoyo had taken advantage of you and was able to pin you down completely. You kicked at him a bit, only for his own legs to hold down yours. You started to hate the color orange right about now, as it was the only thing holding you away from your freedom. You understood now why most prison uniforms were orange too.

You wondered where Yui was too. They just miraculously disappeared the second Shoyo arrived. There was then a flash of teal slightly above the orange haired boy. Thank god Yui didn’t just leave you for dead. However, whatever they were doing wasn’t really working. At least that’s what you thought. 

Shoyo only pinched your neck at its most vulnerable point, and you felt sleepy. 

Then everything was a complete black. You being knocked out might become a habit.

* * *

Feathers made up the mattress you were laid out on top of. It seemed more like you were in a nest instead of the actual twin bed in your room. Your head was pounding, and it felt like there was a rash forming on your neck. 

You rolled over onto your back, looking up at the ceiling of an unfamiliar room. A point was at the center of it where the roof came all together. There was a light in the middle that looked somewhat like a paper lantern. Staring at the light itself was giving you a headache.

Then you remembered what exactly happened. That Shoyo boy had attacked you, trying to get your necklace. Little thief. Fortunately the boy had spared you, or else you wouldn’t be here, laying in a bed of black feathers.

“Thank goodness you’re awake,” Yui appeared right above you, staring straight into your eyes. 

“What do you want?” you pouted.

“Hey, I prevented that boy from killing you right away,” Yui puffed their cheeks. “You should be grateful.”

“He still knocked me out,” your eyebrows were knit together. 

“Better than being dead if you asked me.”

You sat up, touching the side of your head. There was a teeny bit of pain going there, which wasn’t unusual at this point. It felt like you were knocked out for the upteenth time, even though this was just the second time. Might as well start keeping count.

“Where are we now?” you looked around the room. There was a window with black curtains covering what was outside. The sun was shining through, a desk was under it, resembling a study. At least whoever brought you here, most likely Shoyo, decided to keep the room nice and tidy for you. The walls were made out of a sort of dark concrete, almost like you were in some sort of tower.

“Well you’re in flight territory for a broader kind of thing,” Yui said. “But if you want to be specific you’re in the crow’s watch tower. It’s more of a fancy prison.”

“That’s just great,” you said dryly.

You wondered if they had any pads or tampons laying around for you. Or maybe they didn’t catch on that your period showed up with you to this place.

Eventually, you got up, wandering around the room. An arrangement of symbols were engraved onto the door, mostly around where the knob was. You grabbed onto it, trying to get out, to no avail. You were locked in, and it didn’t look like there was a key anywhere. “Shit,” you cursed under your breath. 

“Those are sealing symbols,” Yui said. “You’re not getting out even if you tried. Believe me, I tried myself.”

Sealing symbols, were they talking about these little doodles around the doorknob. How can that keep something locked? They were just drawings. Maybe you should draw those on your door to keep Kiyoshi out of your room.

You then went to the window. Might as well see what’s going on outside of this ‘watch tower’ as Yui called it. 

You took away the curtains and quickly shut your eyes from the sudden amount of sun going straight to your eyes. After getting them adjusted to the newfound light, you gasped.

It looked like a city found in renaissance Europe, or the set to a fantasy TV show. There were streets made out of stone with various people with black cloaks covering their backs walking on them. There were buildings made of stone with straw roofs. Some of them were elevated higher than others. However, none of the buildings were taller than the tower you were in right now. In the skies, there were huge birds. Wait, those are people. People with wings just like Shoyo’s, except most of them had bigger wings than him. They were all jet black feathers though, like the ones that made your nest of a bed.

You took a couple steps back. This was definitely not home. Far from it.

That bitch of a necklace took you to this place.

“What the fuck?” you muttered.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi, hope you enjoyed the second chapter of this. It was a bit of a doozy to write since I was on a bit of writer's block for quite sometime. Anyways, I'm glad people are reading this story and are at least interested in where it will go in the future. I'm excited for people to see it when it's written.
> 
> -Joos


	3. A Watchtower

You almost fainted at the sight before you. An entire city with people flying in the sky. It was downright fantastical. You needed a minute to take in the situation you were in. It was bad enough coming across a boy with wings who seemed nice, but ended up attacking you. As well as finding a snarky cloud creature.

This topped anything before. 

“I know it’s a lot to take in,” Yui said. 

“WHAT THE FUCK!” you wrapped your arms around yourself, making you look small. You were surely far away from home. Extremely far. Maybe you were dreaming or something? It would explain the wings growing from peoples’ backs and Yui’s entire existence.

“Okay! Let’s not get too dramatic,” Yui flew to the curtains, closing them. “That’s no way to plan an escape that works for the both of us.”

You looked back at the symbols circling the doorknob. The same pattern was on the windowsill. Most likely, the window was locked as well. And even if you managed to open it, your fear of heights would outweigh the need to get out of this damn tower. You doubted anyone would catch you if you did manage to jump out the window too.

You put your hands on your hips, “Alright, what do we do then?” Obviously, you were still taking things in. But now you had to get the hell out of here and wake up. You might actually feel a bit better after this dream or nightmare. 

A few bars were there that looked strong enough to break down a door. Although that might alert someone inside the tower that could be guarding this room. 

“That’s what I’m trying to figure out stupid,” Yui flew into every spec and corner of the room, maybe trying to find a key so you could get out without having to squeeze through.

You touched the collar of your shirt to find that the necklace that settled itself inside your shirt, was gone. You remember Shoyo saying that he was taking the necklace from you. At first, you did not know why, other than just him being a petty thief. But now that you’re here, things are confusing your brain.

“You know where the necklace might be right?” you turned your head to see where Yui was. “Because that boy probably took it.”

Yui poked their head out of one of the small nooks by the desk, “He did. There was nothing I could really do about that. I would’ve exposed myself if I did anything more with the magic I’ve got.”

Did they just say magic? That was something that was only in the stories you read. Fairy Tales, as well as Harry Potter. You turned to the symbols on the door. Were they magic too? That’s what Yui implied it to be. Walking to the door, you took a closer look at the knob. The symbols carved around were nothing you could understand. They looked like doodles a child would do when they were bored at school. Yet these had the ability to lock you in this room.

You traced one of them with your finger. It began to shine a bit. The light was a teal color like what Yui had when you first met them.

“Don’t get too distracted there,” Yui said. “That’s what’s keeping you here, remember.”

“Right,” you took your hand away from the door, stepping away entirely. What a weird thing? To think you’re trusting something of your own imagination to not do something. Maybe Yui was your conscience telling you that you needed to wake up soon. 

Yui was bumping themselves against the leg of the desk. They were grunting as they did so, using as much force as they could to try and make it budge just a little more. “Hey, come help me move this,” they said.

“Yeah, sure,” you reluctantly went to help them. You pulled the desk a bit, revealing a trapdoor. There was no telling where it could lead to. Nothing was there that could indicate the door was locked, so it was probably your only chance to explore the tower. 

Yui undid the latch, and you opened the door. Down below, was the middle of a set of stairs descending the supposed tower you were stuck in. There was no one near it. Some prison this was if escape could easily be done if you looked around a bit.

“Don’t get fooled,” Yui said. “The crows are one for liking to chase their prisoners. That’s why they put the trap doors there.”

You knew there would be some sort of catch, but not something so psychotic as that. 

“Alright, now get in there,” Yui gestured to the trap door. 

“Say what?” you scooted back from them. Do they seriously think you could fit through that. The opening wasn’t the biggest thing in the world. “You think I’m skinny?!” you leaned over the opening the trap door made.

“Oh gods--” Yui said.

“No no no, let me have this moment of confidence,” you waved Yui off. Someone actually thinking you were skinny definitely made you think this was a dream. Back home, no one would even pay attention to your weight in a positive way. It was always someone calling you fat or the nurses saying you’ve gained a couple of pounds.

“Alright, I guess I can go through that door,” you put your hands on your hips. “But only because you said I was skinny.”

“I never said that,” Yui sighed.

You ignored them, and put your feet through the opening, making sure there was no one you would fall on top of after going through. Soon enough, you were falling. It was a short fall, but it was like you were gliding down a huge skyscraper. You almost screamed before remembering that someone else could be here, ready to hunt you down. 

A pulse went through your entire body as you landed on your feet. It was a hard fall that almost led you to falling down the stairs going up and down the tower. You looked from one side to another, seeing the blank pathways the stairs gave you. Which direction would you go if you were to move along? 

Yui floated down, letting themselves wait for you to get your bearings. It was nice of them to do that for an outsider like you.

“Where do we go now?” you asked them.

“To where they’re keeping your necklace of course,” Yui said. “We need to get that back don’t we?”

Yui floated where the stairs were going up. There was plenty of emptiness that you discovered in the tower. A bit of an echo let your footsteps be heard loud and clear, which worried you. It was dark too. Only a few torches lit the way up. One wrong step could lead you to falling down the middle of the tower. The stone walls would allow a few broken bones, possibly death.

A few steps were echoing through the tower. They weren’t yours at all, neither Yui’s. It was inevitable that someone would follow you. So this would have to be a quick trip before you get caught.

Eventually, you got to a door that was a lot similar to what yours looked like. The same symbols surrounded it, and you assumed it was locked. It was most likely the door to where your necklace would be.

No one was hunting you down yet, but you didn’t want to take the chance of standing around any longer. Things just seemed too easy for you. Maybe one of them was hiding behind a wall or something, waiting for you to slip up just once so they can attack. That might have been another reason why the door was locked, other than keeping what was inside away from outsiders.

“Looking for something?”

Yui quickly hid as you turned around. 

A tall man was behind you. It was unclear of when he actually came up behind you while you were trying to figure out a way in the mysterious room Yui led you to. The man’s eyes were half lidded and filled with a dark shade of gold watered down by a pair of glasses. His hair was the palest blonde you’ve ever seen in your entire life. He was tall too, very tall. And you’d admit he was handsome too.

“Um,” you stammered, trying to find the best excuse as to not be attacked by the stranger. 

“Out with it,” the man commanded.

“I was just exploring,” you averted your gaze from him.

The man was silent for a moment, letting you wait for what he might say. A bit of acid came up to your throat, but you swallowed it, stinging your insides. 

“Just be glad you were caught sooner rather than later,” the man sighed. “If I were Tanaka or Nishinoya, you would’ve been mangled.”

“So you’re letting me go?” your ears perked up. 

“Of course not. Do you think I’m stupid enough to let a human like you in there?”

Did he just call you human? You frowned, not sure of how to react to being called something like that. He himself looked human, but you did notice the feathers poking out of his cloak. His glasses were quite strange too. They didn’t look like something an optometrist would sell to someone to see better. Yet they resembled glasses from where you were from.

“Come with me,” the man turned around, commanding you to follow him. You did, not wanting to get yourself killed at this rate. You wondered where Yui was hiding now since he said nothing about their presence. 

You didn’t ask where he was taking you, which was probably back to the room you were first left in. The fact that you were going up the stairs at an alarming rate said such. Maybe there were other people here too, and this man didn’t want you to get caught. Although, you were with him, so it could be fine.

You looked behind you to where the locked door would be, “What’s in there anyway?” 

“Not your concern,” he responded.

You frowned. Yui had led you to where your necklace would most likely be. Of course it would be your concern. 

“But something that’s mine could be in there,” you said.

“If you originally had it, then we took it because it was dangerous,” the man said. “Only our leader is allowed in there. So I can’t let you in there either pipsqueak.”

Leader? These kinds of people had a leader? Actually, that made sense since you’re in this weird sort of society your necklace took you too.

The strange thing was that he said it was dangerous. How can your moms give you that necklace if others say it’s ‘dangerous?’ You weren’t a baby that could choke on it anymore, which was the reason they took it away in the first place when they apparently first found you. If that basket was dangerous too, then you would question your parents just a bit.

The stranger eventually led you to where you started. The doorknob to the room you first woke had no symbols on this side. The door opened, and you were lightly pushed in. It was actually quite lazy more than anything.

“You better not try getting out of there again,” he said. “The next person to find you won’t be kind.”

The door quickly shut as Yui flew their way in front of you. They checked the door over your shoulder, really seeing if the stranger was truly gone.

“Who was he?” you asked.

“One of the kinder crows,” Yui said. “Well, he’s less violent than others. I’ll say that. That was a close one for the both of us.”

“They don’t like you?” 

“Let’s just say I’d like to avoid people other than you right now.”

You didn’t press any further than that. Instead, you questioned the motives of those supposed crows.

* * *

During the time you spent in this room, you decided to take a nap, or at least tried to. Your mind was too fiddled with unnecessary questions. Ones like, What was in that room? Was your necklace really dangerous? If so, then why did your moms give it to you? And the most important ones of all.

Why were you here? And how could you get back home?

Yui swept through the room, coming up with nothing. It seemed like they were much adamant on escaping the tower you were locked in. You felt like Rapunzel but without the inhumanly long hair for someone to climb up. 

Everyone here must have wings too. That’s what you found from watching out the window for what seemed like hours. Little people from the town below would take to the skies, brandishing black wings like it was nothing abnormal. And it probably wasn’t around here.

The door suddenly opened, causing you to jump, and Yui to hide. On the other side of it was a slightly familiar face. Orange hair like the sunset and amber eyes. Him. The one who brought you to this tower by knocking you out.

You didn’t say anything. Shoyo probably made a living of knocking out young girls after gaining a little bit of their trust.

“It’s you,” Shoyo beamed as if he didn’t bring you to this room in the first place.

“Yeah,” you said dryly. “The girl you knocked out in strange clothes.”

“Yeah, I remember you,” Shoyo said. “A crow never forgets someone’s face after all.”

You blinked a couple of times. His boyish charm was still there, along with his smaller appearance. Anyone would have mistook him for a child, but you didn’t want to say that aloud.

“ _Sure_ ,” you looked away from him. Yui hid away once again. There was a bit of anger residing from what happened with him. It was strange that Shoyo was acting like it never happened too. Well, he did say it did, but he never acknowledged that he attacked you.

“You need something?” you asked after he wouldn’t leave. “Cause I’m busy waiting for you to get out.”

“I’m bringing you to our leader,” Shoyo said. The way he did conveyed that you didn’t have a choice in the matter. “And you shouldn’t have that attitude when you see him,” he continued.

You furrowed your eyebrows, and turned up your nose. Normally you wouldn’t be this bratty about going somewhere. However, you wanted to act like you had a bit of agency in this situation of basically being kidnapped. The thing is that it didn’t work.

Shoyo only got closer to you and picked you up bridal style. He was stronger than you thought a small guy would be.

“If you’re going to keep acting difficult, I’ll carry you there myself,” he sounded too happy about carrying you around.

Shoyo went up to the window, tracing his finger over the symbols in a particular order. It was then that the window was unlocked, and soon opened. The wind embraced the bare skin shown by your pajamas. If you would have known it would be chilly, you would’ve found something warmer to wear. But you didn’t plan to actually get transported here now did you?

In the blink of an eye, you were in the air, the wind cradling you as Shoyo’s wings were spread. A feather or two had fallen away, drifting as the ground below would catch it. 

You screamed, holding onto him for dear life, eyes tightly shut. The fact that he might drop you after taking you away from Yui crossed your mind all too often during the flight itself. Where exactly would they be if they hid from Shoyo? And now that you’re separated, will they wait for you to get back there?

Eventually, you took a brief moment to open your eyes, and what you saw was marvelous. The little town below could be seen in its entirety. Not to mention, you got closer to the other crows gliding their way through the sky. Your heart dropped before closing your eyes once again.

It seemed like hours before the sound of feet tapping solid ground came to you. A door to a very large building was in front of you. This one was quite a bit bigger than the tower you were imprisoned in the first moments you had gotten here. The stones building it up were there to show that. There was even a black emblem placed on it, showing everyone that this was the big cheese. 

Shoyo put you down, not giving you a second to regain your balance. You quickly fixed your hair while following him through.

“Why don’t you warn me next time before you start flapping your little wings,” you said. The audacity this boy had to just slug you made you question how he was taught to treat women.

“My bad,” he didn’t bother to even turn to you. “I almost forgot that was your first flight while being conscious.”

You furrowed your eyebrows. The nerve of this boy to keep dragging you through the mud with no warning whatsoever. To anyone else, this might be the start of a meet cute in some cheesy romcom. In fact, it was terrible in real life and the guy is just being an asshole.

Shoyo led you through the many halls that made up this sort of building. It would be a bit of an overstatement to call it a castle. It was smaller than most you’ve seen in real life, as well as television. There were cracks in the walls that people didn’t bother to fix, or couldn’t be. Dusty areas filled the corners as well as stray feathers that could be wings shedding the feathers that grow on them. It wasn’t exactly disgusting, but it wasn’t the cleanest place in the world. There were little perches where someone had landed onto before coming in through the balcony that showed the outside world to you.

“I remember my first time stepping in here,” Shoyo said. “Amazing isn’t it.” His eyes lit up like the sun shining through many clouds when it should’ve been a rainy day.

“Yeah,” you muttered. It wasn’t exactly the truth, but you couldn’t think of anything else to tell him at that moment.

You soon came across a gaping door. It took up most of the space in that wall, leading you to believe the leader was on the other side. They would always have the biggest things since they run the place altogether. 

“Here we are,” Shoyo said. “The conference room.” He gestured to it like you were supposed to be amazed by it. However, you didn’t give him the reaction he desired. He soon gave up, and traced the symbols surrounding the knob in that same order for the window. You recognized it as the same symbols on the door to your prison room. You ended up studying the order, keeping it in your memory so you could get out of there easier.

The door opened, revealing an oval table with the seats already filled with winged people. 

“You’re late again Hinata,” a man with grey hair and a mole on the underside of his eye said. 

“Sorry Sugawara,” Shoyo said. “The girl wouldn’t cooperate.” 

Yes, blame everything on you. That’s the perfect excuse for everything. You wished to say it out loud, but instead kept your pretty little mouth shut. These people didn’t look to be the definition of friendly.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi, hope you enjoyed this long awaited chapter. I hit a bit of a block while writing it, but I'm glad I got through in time to publish it for you all. Hopefully this won't happen with the next one and I'll finish it at a reasonable date. Anyways, tune in to the next chapter.
> 
> -Joos


	4. Interrogation

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Introducing the shortest chapter in the fic, so far.

“Why don’t you have a seat miss?”

The grey haired man smiled at you. His mole moved up where his cheeks were wrinkling. Anyone would think that he was being friendly, but it was actually quite the opposite. The tone in his voice made it sound more like a threat than an invitation.

You sat down next to Shoyo, the only one you actually knew and could kind of trust. You refrained eye contact with anyone else, but noticed little features each person around the table had. One had a buzzcut. Another had their hair spiked up while a small tuft was bleached. He was about the same size as Shoyo, maybe even a little smaller. Shoyo kept glaring at a boy with raven hair and piercing blue eyes. He looked the least friendly of all. 

At least one of them looked friendly. He was a boy with freckles and olive green hair. It didn’t seem like he approved of your supposed kidnapping, courtesy of Shoyo. The boy with green hair was next to the blonde who had caught you sneaking out of your room/prison. There was a silent agreement that neither of you would tell anyone what happened back there.

There were two other people sitting near the inviting grey haired man. One of them was a brunette who tied his hair into a bun. He had a bit of a goatee, and had a wild look to him. Yet his body language made him seem quite timid compared to everyone else. There was another brunette, he was in the center seat, a cape was draped over his shoulders, a golden emblem was connecting the two halves together instead of a silver one. The three men were sitting in a sort of triad, making it seem like they were the holy trinity or something.

“To start off,” the main brunette said. “I would like to apologize for Hinata’s behavior, miss. He’s quite rough when it comes to incapacitating someone.” He then gestured to the buzzcut and his short friend. “I also apologize in advance for these two. They can be quite violent,” he said.

You flinched. At least he was nice enough to point out which ones were most likely to kill you on the spot if you weren’t protected by Yui. 

“It’s not like we’d kill her instantly,” the nimble stranger said. Great, what reassurance.

“Why bring me here if you’re just gonna point out who to avoid?” you blurted, and instantly regretted it. This is basically one ticket to your own death, which might get you out of here if this really was a dream. 

“Show some respect to our leader,” the buzzcut boy spat. 

“Tanaka, I can introduce myself,” the main brunette in the house kept his eyes on you. His expression didn’t waver much at all. The gold emblem might have said it already, but you were now sure that he was the top dog. 

You avoided his dark eyes peering down at you, much like a crow would scout their prey. Surely you would be in for it if Shoyo hadn’t arrived with you. As much as you hated to admit it, he was a lifesaver.

“I guess I haven’t introduced myself have I?” the man said. “My name is Sawamura Daichi, leader of the Nightwing Faction in the flight area. Pleased to meet you, miss…?”

“Uh, (Y/N),” you stammered. “I don’t have a fancy title or anything.” He looked so young to be the leader of a, so called, faction. He did not look much older than anyone else here. Was this his high council or something?

“Now, why am I here?” you asked. They better have a damn good reason to have locked you up in a tower like you were Rapunzel. 

“You’ll be told that soon,” Daichi said. “The whole reason I called everyone here is to figure out what to do with you after all.”

Oh, so you’re gonna be interrogated today. Not how you wanted the first week of being nineteen to go. First you get your period early, which mysteriously ended right when you got thrown here by a necklace. Now these strange, and somewhat handsome, men were going to decide whether or not you can exist.

“Now, Hinata,” Daichi nodded towards Shoyo. “You’re the one that found her, why don’t you tell the others what you told me.”

“Uh, right,” Shoyo nodded. He stood up from his seat, hands behind his back to hide the fact that they were shaking. His nose scrunched a bit as he cleared his throat. He then proceeded to tell the story of what happened with you in his perspective. 

He had been partoling the perimeters a couple miles away from the wall, scanning traps. It was there that he found you. He mentioned that he thought you looked absolutely helpless from up in the sky. What a nice thing to say. 

Shoyo narrated the events and small conversation you had with him, he glossed over the minute details, and focused on how scared you looked before he got you to trust him a little. Things started to differ when he noticed the necklace. He said he sensed the demonic magic in it without even looking with his own eyes. Thank goodness he was respectful enough to not look down your shirt.

“Once I knocked her out, I was just going to kill her,” Shoyo said. “But something stopped me. I sensed some outside magic that didn’t come from the girl or the necklace at all. I only stopped because well, I thought that…”

Shoyo paused for a moment. You were sure he was talking about Yui’s magic being used to save your life. The outside force was definitely them. That’s what they told you at least. You said nothing about it, letting him finish.

“It might have been the mini god,” Shoyo said in a hushed voice. It was barely a whisper, yet everyone around the table heard him. They all had wide eyes. A couple people even leaned back. Others turned to you, and then back to Shoyo. 

You couldn’t help but feel like all eyes were on you. Being the center of attention was the main thing in a concert, but you didn’t want it like this. Not at all.

“Bold of you to come up with that kind of conclusion,” the blue eyed man Shoyo kept glaring at said. 

“Well she couldn’t be part of the rebellion Kageyama,” Shoyo argued. “The girl’s only a human.”

“That’d be a valid argument if humans weren’t so rare to come across,” the blonde man you ran into said.

“Didn’t you say she wasn’t from here?” the grey haired man asked. “I mean, look at the clothes she has on.”

“Um, rebellion?” you blurted. Everyone went silent and turned to you. Their eyes were bird-like. Must’ve been the other reason why they were called crows. 

The short boy with blonde tufts in his hair snickered, “She doesn’t even know about the demonic rebellion, how naive.”

“Well  _ pardon _ me, I didn’t have anyone to tell me about it,” you said. “The only one I could talk to decided to pick me up and fly me around without warning.”

“The rebellion we’re speaking of isn’t your concern,” the grey haired man said. “Now why don’t we ask you a few questions. Is that alright?”

Daichi sighed, “I was just getting to that. Thank you Suga.”

You stiffened. A strange reaction to just confirm them to ask you a few things. Although it didn’t feel like a few questions at all. A light might shine in your face any minute now. Multiple people would be talking at the same time. This was no ordinary questionnaire. It was an interrogation session.

At first it was just a few normal things about you. Where did you get those clothes? Where are you from? Who brought you here? 

_ They’re my pajamas, Miyagi,  _ and  _ my necklace, _ were the only answers you had for them. 

Then things got more intense. 

“Who gave you the necklace?” the grey haired man, ‘Suga’, asked. 

“My moms,” you stammered. “It was just a birthday present gone wrong.”

“Where did they first find it then?” Daichi asked. “Did they know it was demonic when they gave it to you?”

“They saw it when they first found me,” you averted your gaze from the crow leader. “I was only a baby, so I wouldn’t remember anything about it.”

“So you’ve had it since birth then?” ‘Suga’ stroked his chin, eyes closed.

“Well, they took it away from me so I wouldn’t choke on it when I was little,” you chuckled. “But yeah, I guess it’s been there the whole time. I only got it a couple days ago.”

The room fell silent, most of them thinking of your little spiel about the necklace itself. You bit your lip. It must still be inside, behind that locked door only Daichi can clear. If you could convince him to let you in, you could manage to steal it and escape with Yui. Then they would bring you back and you could forget all about this place. 

“Are you really sure that she’s human?” Kageyama asked, his gaze making you stir. 

“I’m sure of it,” Shoyo said. “Shimizu can run a couple tests on her to prove my point.”

“She doesn’t need to do that Hinata,” ‘Suga’ said. “I don’t sense any magic coming from the girl at all.”

The others believed him more than they did Shoyo. Even though they practically said the same thing about you. 

They continued to talk as if you were not in the room whatsoever. Saying things you didn’t quite understand. There was the occasional question directed towards you, but you were limited to only one or two words as an answer. Then, they would continue talking about your existence as a person.

_ She can’t just be killed like that.  _

_ She isn’t from here. _

_ She obviously doesn’t know about the war. _

All of these things confused you to no end. They didn’t explain this war they were talking about, or the mini god mentioned once or twice in passing. Yet another mystery you are not let in on.

The men all turned to you when they finished their discussion, more like an argument from how loud a few were speaking. You were waiting for a mallet to hit a piece of wood like you were involved with a court case.

“So what now?” you asked, making sure not to make eye contact.

“That is for me and Daichi to decide,” ‘Suga’ said. His eyes were closed as he smiled. “But that decision will be made tomorrow.”

That made a bit of sense, politics takes a long time to decide on anything after all. You’ve seen how things were in the news. 

But this also meant it was back to the tower for you. Great. 

“Kageyama can escort you back to the tower,” Daichi said. “Hopefully traveling on the ground will be a nice change.” 

You wondered why he said that in the first place. Wasn’t Shoyo enough for flying people all over the place? 

* * *

Kageyama was quick to get you out of the main building, bringing you into a small city. He said it was the capital of the faction, which was the only thing he’s said to you. 

It was the first time you’ve set foot into the town outside your tower window. The stone pathways were as clunky as you imagined. Feathers were scattered along them, with someone ahead sweeping them up. Crows really did shed a lot didn’t they? 

Buildings were mostly made from wood with a bit of black drapes over them. Smoke came from fires being made from those houses. You could not blame them for polluting the air they fly in. It was chilly today and you were constantly shivering.

People stared at you like you were a zoo animal on display. They mostly stared at your pajamas, and the goosebumps forming from your skin as hair stuck up like twigs. Your hands were bound by rope, scratching at your wrists. You could not walk away either, as Kageyama kept a firm grip on your arm. A bruise might form in the shape of his fingers.

“It’s so run down,” you noticed many broken things, and the lack of cleaning up as you traveled.

“It’s the effects of what the war has done to us,” Kageyama said. “They’ve left us too vulnerable.”

You didn’t dare ask who ‘they’ was. His eyes were clouded with the dismay of seeing everything anyways. It would be rude of a prisoner to further that. In turn, you did what you’ve done so far, keep your head down, your back bending, not looking up for even a second.

It seemed like hours that Kageyama led you through the quaint little town. He was silent the entire time, not even looking back at you. His pace was a bit fast, making it a bit hard for you to follow. It was like he was trying to get this job done as quickly as possible. 

His hair is disheveled, strands of it out of place with the rest of the shape. You could only get a few glimpses of his eyes. Ocean filled eyes. 

“We’re here,” he led you into the tower, going up the circling stairs for forever. 

He lightly pushed you into your door after untying the rope binding your hands together. 

“Wait,” you called just before Kageyama shut the door completely. 

“What,” he said, annoyed. 

“Thank you.”

It was a simple phrase, but one to make his eyes widen. Only for a split second did you see a growing light in his eyes. 

“I don’t need your thanks for doing my job,” the light was gone when he turned away, and the door was shut. 

You sighed. That guy was as blank faced as ever. An underlying rage was covering his aura. It was clear that he did not have the boyish charm of Shoyo, or the gentle smile of the grey haired man at the interrogation. Yet it drew you to him just the same.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello, and happy holidays. I hope this chapter was enjoyable to read, even though not a lot happens. Actually, I think I put in more questions than answers in this chapter. But don't worry, they will be answers. Anyways, tune into the next one. 
> 
> -Joos


	5. The Instrument

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which magic things happen

It had been about a day and a half since you were interrogated by the crows. The grey haired one was not lying that it would take that long for them to decide your fate. It was the reason you were pacing back and forth in your room in the tower. All the while, you were biting your nails and scratching at your own skin until rashes formed.

“Don’t get so worked up about this,” Yui said. “The worst they might do is leave you here.”

They were probably right on that. And despite the semi-nice looking room, the living conditions weren’t exactly sunshine and daisies. Occasionally, you would get water, but you haven’t had a bath since you got here. Strangely, there was no running water in the tower. It was worse that you were basically in self isolation for hours upon hours with only a spirit to talk to.

It was only until right now, that you could go outside once again. 

“Sugawara told me to come get you,” Kageyama was the one who happened to open the door to your lonely tower. He looked about as grumpy as he did the first time you met him.

You didn’t put up much of a fight, learning that you would get flown against your will if you did. 

On the trail back to wherever Kageyama was going, you kept looking behind. There was always a sign that Yui was there. Whether that be a small puff from their body, or something they put out of place. Either way, you knew they were following you. 

Kageyama tugged on your hand, and you went back to focusing on him.

“Where are you taking me?” you asked. 

“To the main headquarters,” Kageyama said. 

That was the extent of your conversation with him. 

Apparently the headquarters Kageyama was talking about was the building you were interrogated in. Shoyo mentioned nothing about it, and it seemed castle-like rather than a meeting spot for a few faction leaders. 

Kageyama dragged you in aggressively, even though there was no need for it. 

You were led down one of the many corridors to the same room you were interrogated. The conference room, as Shoyo called it. Instead of many people inside, there was one. It was probably the ‘Sugawara’ who wanted to see you.

“Good afternoon Miss (Y/N),” he smiled at you. 

“Heyy,” you waved. A bead of sweat went down your forehead. “So, is this the part where I die?” Did you say that out loud? Dang, now he might know you’re onto them and kill you right away.

“No you’re not going to be killed,” Sugawara said. “I don’t know why you would think that.”

You were pleasantly surprised by his answer. At least now you were safe. Yui was right, they wouldn’t kill you right away after interrogating you. 

“I only wanted to welcome you to our main headquarters,” he said.

“Huh?” you tilted your head to the side.

“You’ll need to explain further,” Kageyama said. “She’s slow-minded.”

You frowned, but had no time to come up with a witty comeback for him. He didn’t deserve the time anyways. 

“Right, right, I almost forgot,” Sugawara waved Kageyama off. “We’ve come to an agreement that you’ll be staying here until further notice.”

He ended up subverting your expectations. Yui made it seem like this was not a good place to be trapped in. You’d at least have shelter, food and water maybe. And you’d probably get clothes and a nice bath. What’s there to lose in this situation?

“However due to some people’s suspicions about you,” Sugawara shot a look at Kageyama. “You will be under Hinata and Kageyama’s constant supervision. No matter where you are, one of them will be with you.”

You made eye contact with Kageyama, only to shift your gaze back to Sugawara. Spending an entire day with that gaze would certainly be a handful.

“Of course, for that entire time, you will be under our care. You will have a change of clothes, as well as a bath in the meantime,” Sugawara smiled at you. “I hope you find comfort here in due time.”

It was a miracle that he didn’t say anything about your situation. Although you didn’t want to jinx it.   
  


* * *

  
The bath was about as big as one in the Roman times talked about in school. The cesspool of steamed water made it feel like you were going to be cooked in soup for the crows’ future meals. 

You wrapped your arms around your bare skin. Even though you were alone, the size of the room exposed your naked body to whomever might come in. The sounds of droplets hitting the floor echoed all the way up to the ceiling, bouncing off the stone walls. 

“Can you assess the situation?” Yui appeared next to you, making you shriek, and cover your chest. 

“Can you not be in here when I’m naked?!” you yelled.

“It’s nothing I haven’t seen before,” Yui leaned against your shoulder. “I’ve seen lots of naked people. Some of them were even doing...things.” 

The two of you shivered. 

“Soo,” Yui said. “Tell me what’s going on.” 

“You were following me around though,” you turned away from them. “You should know already.”

“Well, I don’t because I was too busy trying not to get caught.”

You reluctantly explained everything, how you were going to be watched 24/7 while staying here. Yui closed their eyes, and nodded with what little of a body they had. 

“That seems like quite the predicament,” they said. “We’re going to have to talk here from now on then.”

You frowned, “Really.”

“Yes, the only time I’ll see you is when you’re naked.”

At least that was a sign you could talk to them. Nakedness could still pertain to the private room to talk to Yui. They were at least someone you could trust in this place. Well, you knew they weren’t going to harm you in any way. You weren’t sure about everyone else. 

You let your arms down a bit, giving them a rest from squeezing your chest so much. Sighing, you leaned against the edge of the bath. This was something you had to get used to for now. Soon, you would be in your own bed. Or maybe the floor since you knocked yourself out. 

“Yui?” you said. “Can you at least not look at my nipples?”

“Right sorry,” Yui turned around to face the wall.

* * *

A change of clothes was left for you when you dried off. It was a dark nightgown made from thin fabric. When you put it on, the skirt went down to your feet. The sleeves were bubbled all the way down where your wrist was. Thankfully, the dress didn’t let much of your skin be seen through the fabric.

You stepped out, eyes meeting with Kageyama’s. He looked at you for a second, and shifted his gaze to the floor. His teeth tugged on his lip before releasing it a beat later.

“What?” you tilted your head.

“It’s nothing, let’s go,” Kageyama dragged you along. 

He led you to a room much similar to the one in the tower. However, this one was bigger. A bigger bed, a bigger window. There was actually a closet you could climb into when scared. There were red curtains blocking the glass that would reveal the cityscape. You could probably spend a lot of time looking. But you wanted to explore it for yourself. Maybe your new supervisors would take you there.

Kageyama stood at the doorway, saying nothing as you looked around. You couldn’t tell if he was angry, or that was just his face. He had been frowning so much, you weren’t sure if he even liked you. 

“Are you gonna just stand there or come in?” you asked. “I won’t bite.”

“I didn’t think humans did that,” he said.

“We don’t, that’s why I said I don’t bite.”

Kageyama paused for a moment, and took a single step inside. You didn’t move, despite that you were sweating all over. It was probably going to ruin the gown.

With a spark of confidence, Kageyama speed-walked closer to you. His piercing blue gaze was a sword to your neck. Your heart skipped a beat. Mostly out of fear. 

“Listen here,” he said. “I don’t care if you’re telling the truth, and you’re really not from here. I don’t care if you’re actually a human, which is questionable. I’m not letting you out of my sight for a second.”

His voice was cold without even trying to be. 

You gulped, “Okay.”

Kageyama stepped back again, and went back to his lack of eye contact with you. Now that you thought of it, the blonde crow had said that humans were rare around these parts. Sugawara even mentioned that some were under suspicion of you. 

Damn, it was like you were the crewmate being accused of being the imposter. 

You found out why Yui was so scared to be seen by these people. And now you were caught in their figurative trap.

That night, Kageyama was watching as you tried to fall asleep. You kept your back to him, but you could still feel his stare burning into your back at times. Any time you would turn to look at him, he was looking away. 

You fell into a restless sleep that night.

* * *

The next morning, Kageyama wasn’t there. Only the previous aura he inhabited while watching you with sharp eyes. You thought of what he said last night. That no matter what, he would never keep his eyes off you. And here you were, alone. Maybe it wasn’t his day. Maybe he would keep close eyes whenever it was his time to shine.

Instead, amber eyes were looking into yours instead of ocean blue.

You frowned, knowing full well it was Shoyo, or Hinata as others called him. 

“Don’t look so stiff,” he chirped. “The day’s already started!”

You looked away from him. Although your anger at him was slowly disappearing over the days away from him. And now you were stuck with him for the entire day.

It started with breakfast, the first time you ate a full meal in awhile. It was eggs seasoned with a strange, pepper-like seasoning. The spice in it was quite mild. 

“It comes from the lavender peppers,” Shoyo told you. “They always bring out the egg taste.”

Shoyo’s company was more welcome than you would’ve thought he would be. Maybe his boyish charm was what he was actually like. He wasn’t cruel during breakfast that was for sure. Or maybe it was just his love for eating that brought it out. 

After your first meal in a while, Shoyo began to lead you around headquarters. He was skipping around with you lagging behind him. The slippers you had on weren’t really good for running around the place. 

He showed you things you’ve already seen the first time. The take-off posts, as well as the door to the main conference room. The two of you briefly passed by Daichi’s quarters. Shoyo said you and him weren’t allowed inside. You stopped him where you reached a proper window to look out into the town below. So quaint, albeit a bit dirty. 

“The view is much better when you’re flying,” he said. “You wanna see?” 

“Um,” you avoided his amber gaze. “What about walking through everything else?”

“Walking’s too boring!” Shoyo huffed. “I’d rather fly.”

“You must really like it,” you said. 

“I do!” Shoyo chirped. “It’s one of my favorite things. That, eating, and sparing with Bakeyama.”

His eyes were lit even more than they already were. The passion for taking the skies was in his voice. For you, it was scary, the rush of being in the air close to falling away being the worst feeling in the world. But for him, it was the best part. 

Shoyo grinned. It brought a rousing feeling in your chest. It was warm, and welcomed. 

The next stop that interested you was a room full of various instruments. It was from something that looked like a guitar or banjo, to more of a violin. There were even a few drums laying around. You couldn’t decide which one you wanted to play first. What would they sound like? What kind of songs would they play? How would the strings feel when your fingers would pluck them? Would the crows even let you? 

A few of the instruments had symbols carved into the thin and light wood they were made of. They were ones unlike what was around the doorknobs to keep them locked. 

You picked one up, a guitar, or one that looked closest to a guitar. It was light, a bit old-looking too, but that didn’t matter. All you imagined was your mom, Sumi, staring at you, saying not to move while she took a photo of it with her camera. It was a real one, not the ones on cell phones. She would have an explanation that the lighting was just right, or that you were in the right pose for it to happen. Mio would tell her it was a bit much to have such an artistic photo book of you. But Sumi was a photographer at heart, and wanted you to look as flattering as possible. 

You smiled at the memories your moms gave you whenever you played. Kiyoshi would dance whenever you strummed your guitar, even singing a little bit. He was off key most of the time, but still loved it. 

“Try playing it,” Shoyo said. 

Snapping back to reality, you shifted your gaze to him, “Can I?” 

“Of course,” he chuckled. “You don’t need my permission to do everything. I’m just watching you.”

If only it could be so easy with someone like Kagyema. He would probably be the one you needed the approval of to do anything. 

You plucked the strings, one after the other. It was perfectly in tune, almost like it was only used recently. You played a G chord, and it seemed to work well enough musically. Then began playing a series of notes pertaining to a melody in your mind. It’s been there ever since you were little. You hummed it every time you were in charge of watching Kiyoshi and he was crying. 

No one was watching at that moment. No one could hear the sound of something always in the back of your mind. It was a sweet forgotten nostalgia of your life. One that you would soon regret showing others.

Each finger landed on a different fret, a different string. It was intricate enough that you couldn’t hear anything else but the music. It consumed you fully as you closed your eyes. 

And when it did, a moving shadow circled your feet.

Suddenly, someone grabbed your shoulder, causing you to stop playing. “Stop!” Shoyo’s voice echoed in your eardrums. 

You turned, seeing his raised brows. His eyes, wide and afraid. 

“What?” you asked. 

“Where’d you get that melody?” Shoyo asked. Back to interrogation. 

“I don’t know,” you said. “But I’ve known it since I was a kid.”

There was silence filling the room. It looked like Shoyo was in the middle of assessing what actually happened. It’d be a lot better if he told you what you playing a song from your childhood meant. But there was nothing. 

“Don’t tell anyone what happened here,” Shoyo’s voice was more commanding. “Never play that melody again.”

And so you didn’t. You left the guitar behind for the first, but not the last, time. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi, hope you enjoyed this chapter. Yes, this asked more questions than gave answers. But that’s what happens in the first act. So, tune in to the next chapter where one last question is asked.

**Author's Note:**

> Hi, welcome to the first chapter of this new fic. I appreciate you clicking on this because it peaked your interest. Any sort of content warning or trigger warning will be in the beginning notes. Hence the menstruation content warning. That will be a regular thing with beginning notes. If there isn't anything there, then there is nothing you really need to skim over. Characters and relationships will also be added as the fic goes on.
> 
> -Joos


End file.
